Jane Harman resigned from Congress February 28, 2011 to join the Woodrow Wilson Center as its first female Director, President and CEO.

Representing the aerospace center of California during nine terms in Congress, she served on all the major security committees: six years on Armed Services, eight years on Intelligence, and eight on Homeland Security. During her long public career, Harman has been recognized as a national expert at the nexus of security and public policy issues, and has received numerous awards for distinguished service.

She is a member of the Defense Policy Board, the State Department Foreign Policy Board, and the Homeland Security Advisory Committee. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Trilateral Commission and the Advisory Board of the Munich Security Conference.

Harman is a Trustee of the Aspen Institute and the University of Southern California. She is also a member of the Presidential Debates Commission.

A product of Los Angeles public schools, Harman is a magna cum laude graduate of Smith College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and Harvard Law School. Prior to serving in Congress, she was Staff Director of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, Deputy Cabinet Secretary to President Jimmy Carter, Special Counsel to the Department of Defense, and in private law practice.

North Korea's provocative behavior may be part of a larger effort to break out of diplomatic isolation and economic dependency on China by pressuring Washington to return to the negotiating table. Commentary co-authored by Jane Harman, Robert Hathaway, and James Person. more

Africa is an opportunity for expanding mutually beneficial partnerships and for growth. America should be investing more in the continent, helping to build infrastructure and relationships in these emerging markets, contributing to the stability and security of the region and making diplomatic gains that can pay dividends later. more

While the means of combating terrorist threats may have changed, the end for preserving international security remains the same. We need strategies, not just tactics — and a necessary part of that equation is creating a durable legal structure for remote-control warfare that will secure buy-in from a global audience, writes Jane Harman in this op-ed.
more

"Mid-[level] to senior staffers stay on the Hill for a long time -- they are the staffers that members rely on. Maybe we can develop a professional cadre of informed bipartisan staff who will help the institution of Congress do much better policymaking. That's what the agenda is," Jane Harman said about the Wilson Center's new foreign policy fellowship program. more

Of 20 Arab and Muslim states, 14 have unfavorable opinions of Iran. This fact and more was uncovered in James Zogby’s recent poll of Arab and Muslim opinion on Iran. James Zogby was joined by panelists Haleh Esfandiari, Hisham Melhem, Barbara Slavin, and Marc Lynch in this National Conversation discussion moderated by Tom Gjelten of NPR. more

“The Environmental Change and Security Program is one of the most innovative programs here at the Wilson Center,” says President and CEO Jane Harman on the 20th anniversary of the program. “The program’s hallmark has been content that brings timely analysis to new audiences in new ways."

"I do think boots on the ground are necessary to achieve the mission... but the face of the boots on the ground ought to be a Muslim face from the region," says Jane Harman in this interview on Morning Joe.

" 'War on terror' was always a misnomer. Terror is not our enemy; it’s a tactic. Unfortunately, by framing our actions in a linguistically sloppy way, we’ve hurt our narrative with several important groups," writes Jane Harman.

"It's hard to see how the United States can pursue much longer an Iraq-only response to the increasingly regional threat of ISIL. That's exactly why Congressional action is essential: not to endorse mission creep, but to limit it," writes Jane Harman.

Was the sudden rise of the Islamic State insurgents, to use a loaded term, an “intelligence failure?” No, it wasn't writes Jane Harman. But no quantity of intelligence can fill the vacuum of a missing strategy.

Women's involvement in terror is real and growing. What drives women to give their lives for violent movements that insist on their inferiority? Jane Harman writes about this growing trend and what to do to stop it.

Since 9/11 Americans have had to reexamine their tolerance for intelligence gathering as it relates to national security, particularly in the wake of revelations by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The evolving relationship between security and liberty is explored by a panel of experts in this edition of REWIND.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a group of Fulbright Fellows commemorated the J. William Fulbright-Hillary Rodham Clinton Fellowships, a new fellowship under the State Department’s Fulbright program in honor of Secretary Clinton.

In this audio briefing, experienced observers on the ground in Cairo and analysts from the U.S. examine the ouster of President Morsi, the path to democracy, and the implications for political Islam in the region.

The law that authorized U.S. forces to act against terrorists after 9/11 is once again up for debate. The Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) is seen by many as no longer applicable to a conflict that has moved beyond those responsible for 9/11. The enemy and the nature of the conflict have changed: is it time for the U.S. to revise or repeal the AUMF? This National Conversation includes expert commentators who have worked in many of the organizations most closely involved with the issue – Congress, the U.S. military and the CIA.

How can we protect our infrastructure, and make it more resilient against the many hazards that are part of the 21st Century? This National Conversation is part of a dialogue between government and the private sector, to help make policy more effective.

A panel of experts shared their views on the current status of religious minorities in Middle East, especially in light of developments after the “Arab Spring,” and provided strategies and recommendations for how these minorities can be protected.

Rarely has there been a time where so many parts of the Middle East seem to be moving all at once. Civil war in Syria, the impact of the Arab Spring, the impasse in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and the Iranian nuclear issue all offer up challenges without quick or easy solutions. In this Director's Forum, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will share his views on these and other regional issues.

A panel of experts, including R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director of Drug Control Policy at the White House, discusses reforming current policies combating illegal drugs in the United States and Latin America.